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Friday, June 17, 2011

I am not against DRS, says Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is not against the controversial Decision Review System (DRS) but he wants it to be more consistent, the Indian batsman said.

The general perception is that the powerful Indian cricket board's steadfast opposition to DRS stems partially from the apprehension that Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, share about the technology's accuracy.

Tendulkar, however, said he was not altogether against the technology.

"I am not against DRS, but I feel it will be more effective with the support of the Snickometer and Hot Spot technology. This will give more consistent results," he told a cricket website.

The Snickometer is used detect edges, while Hot Spot gives more convincing indications of the ball's point of contact. Hawk Eye technology, used more often, replicates the ball's trajectory.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recommended the mandatory use of DRS, under which teams currently can make two unsuccessful appeals against an umpire's decision per innings, in all formats of the game but the Indian cricket board have vowed to oppose it.

Incidentally, Tendulkar's one-day opening partner Virender Sehwag is an admirer of it while former India coach Gary Kirsten has also backed the technology which, the ICC claimed, has improved correct decisions by seven percent.

"I have even told the ICC that we have no problem with Hot Spot. Our objection is to ball tracking," Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar told website.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan shot off an angry letter to the ICC in March, claiming the technology's "inadequacy" had been exposed in this year's 50-over World Cup, which was won by India.

The BCCI's opposition meant the DRS would not be used in India's tour of England starting next month.